Follows recent announcement of Ex-Emirates NBD CEO Rick Pudner as Executive Chairman to lead the firm’s expansion across the UK and Middle East

Endorses the firm’s position as a premier M&A and Corporate Finance adviser for the mid-market

Dubai, United Arab Emirates/ Riyadh, KSA; 1 May 2018: Specialist corporate finance firm LUMINA expands into KSA, launching its third geographic presence since the start of 2018. Andrew Nichol’s appointment anchors its expansion strategy in KSA and enables LUMINA to link three major markets – KSA, UAE, and the UK – for capital flows and M&A deals.

Rick Pudner, Executive Chairman, reaffirmed the strategy: “The firm has a niche specialism within family business M&A and corporate finance, and we have seen significant demand across the Middle East region for senior level, on the ground corporate finance advisory services. With the addition of Saudi Arabia, and our recent UK presence, we are delighted to have progressed so quickly toward our goal of linking Saudi Arabia, UK and the UAE for our clients.”

With the KSA market undergoing an intense period of social and economic transformation, investors have identified the long-term growth potential of the Kingdom. KSA’s economic agenda aims to raise the private sector contribution from 45% to 60% of GDP, which will drive M&A activity across the Kingdom. As many inbound KSA deals closed in the first four months of 2018 as they did in the whole of 2017, with healthcare and industrial leading the way in transaction activity driven by more reasonable valuations, and the need to dispose of non-core assets.

Commenting on LUMINA’s strategy in KSA, Andrew Nichol, Partner, said: “KSA’s ambitious Vision2030 plan will, ultimately, impact almost all aspects of socio-economic life within the Kingdom. It will transition the country away from oil dependence and into a global trade and commerce centre, linking Europe, Asia and Africa. In doing so, a diverse range of partnership and investment opportunities in the Kingdom are being created. Corporates, financial institutions and investors alike demand high quality advice as they verify their KSA strategies and pursue these opportunities. I look forward to continuing to identify and execute transactions for our clients by connecting inward global investors and helping our KSA clients achieve their objectives internationally.”

George Traub, Managing Partner of LUMINA concluded: 'Mid-market businesses and family conglomerates want direct experience in their geographies. They expect a deep market understanding alongside practical, executable solutions and that is exactly what we provide. I am confident that with Andrew’s significant on-the-ground transaction experience in the Kingdom we will be able to offer our clients an even more comprehensive regional offering.”

Andrew Nichol served as head of Corporate Finance for PwC in Saudi Arabia. He also worked in roles at Standard Chartered Private Equity, NBK Capital, KPMG in the UK and in an advisory capacity to the UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) now known as DIT (Department for International Trade) advising the UK government on trade deals from KSA into the United Kingdom.